


A terrible secret

by JupiterGoddess



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-25 05:33:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21830803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JupiterGoddess/pseuds/JupiterGoddess
Summary: In the Shrine of the Mask, a terrible secret awaits the sleeper.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 5





	A terrible secret

**Author's Note:**

> This story was sparked by me wondering how Link would have actually felt after discovering the Windfish relief in the Southern Face Shrine.

With a triumphant grin, Link sheathed his sword and walked over to where the key had dropped to the ground. Great. With that, the next dungeon was open and thus the path to the next Instrument of the Sirens. Before pocketing it, he studied it curiously. The handle was shaped in the form of some face or mask. Huh. What kind of weird place was waiting for him this time?  
Whatever it was, Link had the key now. He didn't even know what that… thing had been who had guarded it. Nor had he even expected to find a key. The blonde Hylian had just followed a hint from the old owl, which had guided him across the island so far.  
'But what is this secret I am supposed to find here? What did this mysterious voice mean by "island secret"? And what did the owl mean?'  
No sooner had he exited from the Catfish's Maw dungeon with the Wind Marim-ba as his trophy, that he heard this voice again that gave him hints after he ex-ited every of the dungeons. Only, this time it had talked about some secret of the island instead of a clear hint to the next location. And later, when he had been wandering the foot of the mountains, the owl had appeared and told him to go south. Mentioning a secret – just like the mysterious voice.  
He took the lantern from his belt and relit it in the light of the torches in this room. Highly curious, looking forward to find the answer to this mystery, he stepped through the now open doorway. Beyond, it was pitch black, making Link glad for the lantern. Luckily, he already spotted two large braziers. He headed over to them and poured a little of the witch's Magic Powder into each of them and promptly, two large flames lit the dark room.  
"Wow."  
The wall at the far end was covered with a mural. Link's heart beat a little faster with excitement. He stepped closer to examine the picture. In the upper left cor-ner, he noticed to his bemusement an owl. Looking oddly similar to a certain owl he knew. The rest of the image was dominated by the ornate picture of an ap-parently huge fish, hovering above some mountains and waves.  
'This must be the Wind Fish.'  
For a moment, Link marveled at the craftmanship of whoever had drawn this. Then he turned his focus on the text that was written in the upper right corner. Read the words. Then read them again. And a third time.  
The lantern he was still holding fell clattering to the ground. It was lucky that the glass didn't break. Not that Link would have noticed. His mind was trying to grasp what he just had read.  
"No way… this… this can't be…"  
And yet, there it was, the undeniable truth, written in stone.

TO THE FINDER... THE ISLE OF KOHOLINT, IS BUT AN ILLUSION... HUMAN, MONSTER, SEA, SKY... A SCENE ON THE LID OF A SLEEPER'S EYE... AWAKE THE DREAMER, AND KOHOLINT WILL VANISH MUCH LIKE A BUBBLE ON A NEEDLE... CAST-AWAY, YOU SHOULD KNOW THE TRUTH!

Link felt a faint fit of nausea. An illusion? Coholint Island? Everything, nothing more than a dream? This simply couldn't be. Memories flashed in front of his eyes of all his adventures on this island. Of the people he had met. Marin… Tarin… even Madam MeowMeow and Dr. Wright and Papahl with his wife Ma-masha, their quadruplets and their newborn… He vividly recalled when Marin told him of her dream to turn into a seagull, to fly across the sea and sing to many other people. Her beautiful voice that captivated every last soul. And his heart seemed to break even a bit more.  
Unable to bear the atmosphere in this room any longer, Link turned, snatched the lantern from the floor and ran. He just wanted to get out of this place, need-ed to get some fresh air. Once outside, he leaned against the wall next to the entrance and slid to the ground. As he gazed up at the azure sky, he felt despair wash over him. What was he supposed to do now? Could he still go on and col-lect the last instruments to wake the Wind Fish – now that he knew that the entire island was going to vanish once that happened?  
He felt a tear run down his cheek.  
Suddenly, he heard a familiar flap of wings. When he looked up, he saw the owl that had accompanied him so far land on a nearby column.  
"Hoot! I see you have read the relief."  
Link stared at the bird dully. "You knew about it, didn't you? And yet you sent me to retrieve the instruments?" A sudden anger flared up in the boy. "Why?! Everyone will vanish! Marin! Tarin! Everyone! It's… it's like I was going to kill them! Why did you keep such a horrible secret from me in the first place?!"  
"Do not fret", the owl answered. "While it does say the island is but a dream of the Wind Fish, no one is really sure… Just as you cannot know if a chest holds treasure until you open it, so you cannot tell if this is a dream until you awak-en… The only one who knows for sure is the Wind Fish. Trust your feelings. Someday you will know for sure."  
With that, the bird took off, leaving Link behind. And leaving the final question unanswered. The young Hylian kept sitting there until the shadows grew and he sun hung low in the sky. The entire time, he had thought hard about what he should do. And the war inside him was terrible. On one hand, he wanted to re-turn to Hyrule, to his home, to Zelda. On the other hand, the island and its in-habitants had grown on him. Especially Marin and her quirky father Tarin. While it had been clear from the start that he couldn't stay here for eternity, he didn't want his departure mean that the entire island would vanish. There were people here, for Hylia's sake. People with futures and dreams.  
He sighed and stood. Started on his journey back to Mabe Village.  
There was no helping it. He had to risk waking up the Wind Fish. There were people back in Hyrule waiting for him. And as beautiful as Coholint was, after being abroad for so long, he kinda was missing Hyrule by now.  
'I'm sorry, Marin… Tarin…'  
Determined, yet with heavy steps and a heavy heart, he strode towards Mabe village. Towards the unsure future. Tomorrow, he was going to seek the next dungeon and get the next instrument.  
An almost defiant resolution grew in his heart. Whatever was going to happen, whether all this stuff about the entire island being a dream was true or not, there was one thing for certain…  
He was never going to forget any of it. Coholint and its inhabitants were forever going to stay alive in his heart.


End file.
